Dorney Park Closes Whale Boat Ride

"To show the sincerity of our concern about the current water shortage," Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom announced yesterday that it will shut down its water-based attraction known as Whale Boats.

The ride is in a rectangular pool in the park's amusement ride section. The pool, holding more than 650,000 gallons, will be emptied into Cedar Creek, according to a Dorney Park news release. Water to replace evaporation and splashing in the pool has come from a spring.

The agreement to shut down the ride was made at a recent meeting between Dorney Park and the state Department of Environmental Resources. Harris Weinstein, chairman of the board of Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, said "I don't like to shut down any facility that people enjoy and that generates revenue for us . . . I hope that other commercial water users will also find ways to implement voluntary water cutbacks."

DER Secretary Nicholas DeBenedictus said he was "delighted with the voluntary action." He said DER will meet with the park to set water use regulations for its other water-using rides and facilities.

"I'm happy to see that by our combined efforts we are able to avoid any negative effect upon either the Lehigh Valley economy or area tourism," DeBenedictus said.